Seoul, Jan 30 : South Korea on Wednesday successfully launched its space rocket in its third attempt to put a satellite into space.

The Korea Space Launch Vehicle-1 (KSVL-1), also known as Naro, blasted off at 4 p. m. local time from the Naro Space Center, located 480 kilometers south of Seoul.

The rocket, with a Russian-built first stage and a South Korean-developed second stage, appears to have reached its target altitude and deployed its payload satellite, local media reported.

"The launch of the rocket itself succeeded. Whether the entire mission of deploying the satellite into proper orbit was successful will be determined later in the day," an official from the Korea Aerospace Research Institute was quoted by Yonhap news agency saying.

The launch marked the country''s third attempt to put a satellite into space from its own soil. Two previous attempts in 2009 and 2010 failed due to technical problems. (ANI)